Stratford
Stratford (or Stradford) Academy is the boarding school William Twining attends. The majority of the events of the manga take place here. Description Stratford is an all-boy's boarding school in England, UK. It seems to be an old school, as Camio is said to have attended it for five hundred years, and John Dee attended it while ha was still human, during the time of Queen Elizabeth I.Pillar 51 It has produced many successful students that go on to study in prestigious universities. It is a school for nobles and wealthy people, though is has a honor student element (William is exempt from paying the school fees as long as he remains on top of the class). It has many subjects (some of which are Old Greek and Latin), and has sports classes and events, as well as many clubs. Students are required to wear uniforms. Location(s) The exact location of Stratford Academy is not given, but is most likely based in the real metropolitan suburb of Stratford, England. It is consisted of several large buildings, four at the very least (two dormitories, a church and a least one building where classes are held; but there are more). As a prestigious school it has vast school grounds. There are several big gardens, a lake where boating races can be held, various sports grounds and enough room for several buildings - without them appearing as being stacked on each other. 'Dormitories' As a boarding school, Stratford has dormitories. There are several, though only two have been named. 'Johannes Dormitory' Johannes Dormitory is one of the dormitories of Stratford. Student from lower classes are housed here and this is where William Twining, Isaac Morton, Dantalion and Sytry as well as Mycroft Swallow have rooms during the first thirty plus chapters of the manga. Individual rooms in the dormitory building are shared between several students, with the exception of prefects. Maria Mollins used to be the dormitory mother. Mycroft and William were the prefects. 'Headmaster's Dormitory' The Headmaster's Dormitory is where only excellent students are permitted to stay.Pillar 38, pg. 13 Rooms are still shared, but one can get a room for themselves (as is the case with William, through his roommate that is absent from school; and Camio - who is the Head Boy).Pillar 38, pg. 14 The Head Boy is responsible for the dormitory and there doesn't seem to be any prefect positions here. Camio, who attends the school as Nathan Caxton and is the Head Boy, is housed here. After moving up a grade, William and Mycroft move to this dormitory in September (Isaac remains in Johannes).Pillar 38 Dantalion and Sytry follow William here, with the excuse of "demons" being given. Positions 'Prefects' Prefects are responsible for maintaining order between students, enforcing roll call in Johannes Dormitory and have the authority to usher punishment (not strict) to misbehaving students. Prefects hand out letters once a week and it seems exceptional students get the position. In fact, the position himself holds prestige. The only know prefects were Mycroft and William. 'Head Boy' The Head Boy is responsible for maintaining order between students of the Headmaster's Dormitory, and likely oversees the prefects when needed. It is a prestigious position to have, and has been implied that the best student gets it. William and Swallow are both aiming for the position. Nathan Caxton/Camio was the Head Boy until recently. 'Dormitory Mother' There seem to be two Dorm Mothers, one for each dormitory. Maria Mollins was the Dorm Mother for the Johannes Dormitory. 'Priests' There are reverends for the Church on the school grounds. There seem to be several priests within the church, though they aren't prominent characters, appearing once or twice in the Manga. One of the people serving as the reverend in the School was Ernest Crosby. After his failed attempt to exorcise Sytry and Dantalion he resigned. Kevin Cecil (Uriel) filled his position. 'Staff' Samuel Liddell Mathers got the job as a Latin teacher in the school, while Arthur Christian is the administrative counselor for the school. Events/Traditions Stratford holds a lot of events for it's students and has many traditions. 'Boating Race' There was a boating race held between the Johannes and Headmaster's Dormitories, the winner dormitory having the privilege of eating Maria's meat pies. 'War of Roses' Starting in September and lasting two months, students compete in various activities, such as sports, academic exams, baazars, etc. as members of either the Red Team (Red Army) or the White Team (White Army). The Lancaster army crest is the red rose and the York army crest is the white rose (Sytry, Dantalion and William were in the Red Army and Isaac in the White Army).Pillar 35, pg5,6 For the first month students raise funds.Pillar 35, pg 7 Every student in the middle class has to raise two Guineas. The Head Boy has to raise five.Pillar 36, page 28 After the raising of funds is over, positions for both armies are given, such as Commander in Chief, Chief of Staff, House Division Commanders, while new students and Fags get to choose their masters. Getting lots of brooches from new students improves one's score, and one brooch means one life - so the masters can be "killed" more than once.Pillar 39, pg 27, 28 The ones who win in the various battles take the losers brooches and place them on their flag, the flags are hung on the church tower.Pillar 39, pg 29 The looser wears a sash that says corpse on it.Pillar 39, pg 30 On Guy Fawkes Day, in the end of the month, the team with the most brooches wins. This has an effect on ones grades and reference letters.Pillar 39, pg 30 The military funds collected before are donations and those that don't raise enough are corpses. Teams can turn it all around with an all-out attack, by stealing the flags - the commander in chief will give the order to charge and the students will rush into the church and fight over the flag. The door to the church is repaired every year. Pillar 39, pg 31,32 If one doesn't accept a challenge without a good reason, then they lose a life.Pillar 40, pg 33 The winner has the right to use the military funds (of both armies).Pillar 42, pg 24 'Fags' Fags or mercenaries (in the War of Roses event) are underclassmen, new students that have just left prep school, who choose the commander they consider most appropriate to serve.Pillar 38 pg 20 Students take on Fags when they enter the Headmaster's DormitoryPillar 38, pg 20 (the Head Boy cannot have a Fag). It is a tradition of the school where a specific new student will serve an uppreclasman. In return for doing odd jobs like pouring tea, heating water, etc they can receive assistance from their master until they grow accustomed to the school. The bond can continue even after graduation.Pillar 38, pg 21, 22 There are more new students, so a master can have several Fags. Fags have to choose a master carefully, so they don't get worked hard.Pillar 38, pg 23 William Twining was the fag of Arthur Christian. Sean Christian is William's fag. 'Baptism' A baptism is a "hazing" given to younger and new students (underclassmen) attending the school. It is usually a prank played on them by their fellow roommates or yearmates. A baptism is different for every new student. William was made to do chores, Sytry was dressed as a woman, and Sean, William's fag, was wrapped up in his bedding and nearly swung around. Gallery Stratfod2.png References Category:Places